Today is the day of revelation, which is the basic meaning of the Greek word that we get epiphany from, to show. Growing up as a Protestant and especially as a Baptist, most of these days from the traditional church calendar are things I have had to learn. In talking with my wife about this day, I learned even more, that the Magi are representative of the message of Christ being sent to the gentiles. It makes sense and broadens the tradition of Christmas to touch all of the world.
But, what does that have to do with a Protestant? Or any of us really? Well everything actually. If you believe, as I do, that the Presence of the Sacred is in every human being, then this day celebrates that “connection to all other sacred spirits. The “epiphany” that we are all part of something so much greater than ourselves. John Donne said “no man is an island” and this day tells us that is true. That as we celebrate the arrival of what Christians name as the Light of the World, we must also celebrate that the Light came to ALL.
Have you or I ever celebrated that on Epiphany? That Light has been given to all? The other part of my creation of this blog is that I want (wanted) to write a book called Confessions of a Messy Mystic. A confession is an “acknowledgement of some personal fact the person would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden”. I write this blog about things that I learn from life, the Sacred, and from those aha moments that I kinda wish I already knew and am often embarrassed that I had not realized.
So this confession looks at my realization that I rarely celebrate that all are welcome to the Sacred. All is a really big word. In the second act of my life I am done with the rigid observance of rules. Rohr would say that indicates a level of immaturity and Lord knows I spent enough time there. So today, I am going to grow up spiritually and celebrate the Light in the world. Every person. My dear friends in Sultan Battery, Kerala, India; my friends in France; my Buddhist mate in Perth; all of them are filled with that light because this day we celebrate that one Light coming to all.
TMM